Iconic deals 

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The January transfer window has been open for over a week but it’s been a slow start with just five deals completed for over €10 million. The winter window traditionally gradually becomes more hectic as clubs anaylse their squads and identify possible opportunities on the market with an abundance of deals completed on deadline day.

Emmanuel Agbadou’s €18m move to Wolves from Stade Reims is the biggest deal of the window so far but that’s destined to be eclipsed. Marcus Rashford is expected to leave Manchester United with interest in Italy, Omar Marmoush could depart Frankfurt for Manchester City and Real Madrid are weighing up a move for a defender. The January transfer window was implemented for the 2002/03 season and we’ve analysed the biggest deals across each top five league.

The biggest January transfers across each top five leagues

Enzo Fernandez is one of only two players to move for over €100m in the January window and his €121m move to Chelsea from Benfica in 2023 is the biggest winter move in Premier League history. Virgil van Dijk’s €85m move to Liverpool in 2018 ranks second and it has turned out to be an excellent deal given the Dutchman’s success at Anfield. Fernando Torres’ move from Liverpool to Chelsea is the only other deal between Premier League clubs in the top ten.

Dušan Vlahović’s €84m move from Fiorentina to Juventus in 2022 is the only signing by a Serie A club in January for a fee in excess of €40m. Juventus’ acquisition of Dejan Kulusevski for €39m ranks second with Lucas Pacqueta’s arrival at AC Milan in 2019 taking third spot. Clarence Seedorf’s move to Inter Milan and Hidetoshi Nakata predate the window being introduced but both deals were completed in January 2000.

Philippe Coutinho’s €135m move from Liverpool to Barcelona in 2018 is the most expensive January signing ever. Perhaps surprisingly, only two other LaLiga signings in January have ever exceeded €35m – Diego Costa’s €60m move to Atletico Madrid and Fernan Torres’ move to Barcelona. The only move that predates 2010 in the top ten list is Klass Jan Huntelaar’s move to Real Madrid from Ajax in 2009.

Dominik Szoboslzai’s €36m move between Red Bull Salzburg and Red Bull Leipzig in 2021 remains the record Bundesliga signing in January. Leipzig also command second place for their acquisition of Dani Olmo from Dinamo Zagreb in 2020 taks second spot. Bayern Munich are comfortably the biggest club in Germany but they don’t occupy any of the top three places with Wolfsburg’s signing of Andre Schurrle in third – Bayern’s record winter signing was Sacha Boey last January.

It’s no surprise that PSG dominate Ligue 1’s record January signings with seven entries in the top ten, including the three most expensive deals. Gonçalo Ramos moved to Paris last January for €65m and Leandro Paredes left Zenit for the French giants. The biggest deal not involving PSG was Vitinha’s move to Marseille in 2023 – but the Portuguese star does now play for the Ligue 1 champions.